Two-wheeled vehicle



L .fu vDv e h s s t e e h S 2 E S R O M nr. E d. d o M o m Patented Peb.21, 1893.

WIT/VESSES: MM C. M

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet z. E. F. MORSE. TWO WHEELED VEHICLE.

Patented Feb. 21, 18793l WIT/VESSES:

'ms mums PETERS co. vnorumo.. wAsNmcmn. u. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

EVERE'LT F. MORSE, OF TRUMANSBURG, NEW YORK.

TWO-WHEELED VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,223, dated February21, 1893..

Application filed December 13,1890. Renewed February 24, 1892. SerialNo. 422.794. (No model.)

To all whom t 11mg concern.-

Be it known that I, EVERETT F. MORSE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Trumansburg, in the county of Tompkins and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Two-WheeledVehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide an elastic connection betweenthe body and gear which will permit an up and down vibratory motion ofthe thills independently of the body, and form a yielding resistance tosame that will increase in intensity with the depression of the body andload in the vehicle, and, also to provide springs of simple and novelconstruction which will yield an easy and even vertical motion to thebody and act to equalize the depressions of its opposite sides. f

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention, Figure 1, is aperspective view of my vehicle. Fig. 2, is a side view of theupperpartof the framework of the body showing the manner of bracing thesame and the manner of supporting the torsion springs within the body.Fig. 3, is a perspective View of one of my lower springs. Fig. 4, isafront View of the part of the body below the seat, showing thearrangement of my torsion springs. Fig. 5, is a side elevation of myvehicle showing the front thill in dotted lines so as not to hide partsback of it and illustrating the body in its normal and depressedpositions, showing the principle upon which the springs resist the bodysrocking with greater force when depressed than when in its normalposition. Fig. 6, is a detached view of the manner of connecting thethills to the axle.

Similar letters refer to similar )arts th roughout the several views.

In two wheeled vehicles heretofore constructed, freedom from horsemotion has been sought by providing an elastic connection between thebody and the gear, which, while permitting the thills to vibraterelatively to the body, does not provide a resistance to this motionwhich increases with the load in the vehicle. In all of these will befound one or the other of two serious objections, viz. the resistance tothe vibratory motion of the thills will be either too great to avoidcommunicating it to the body when lightly loaded, or too small to givethe body stability when heavily loaded, for a resistance small enough toprevent the former, is too small to effect the latter. Both theseobjections are entirely avoided by the improvements embodied in myinvention which utilize the depression of the body due to the yieldingof the supporting springs to increase the resistance to this vibratorymotion of the thills as the load in the body is increased, so as toprovide the properk degree of stiffness to give the greatest stabilitypossible with absolute freedom from horse motion, for every load.

Referring to the drawings, A A, are the thills, E, the axle securelyattached to the thills, B, the cross-bar connecting the thills, G abrace connecting the thills and securely attached to the back side ofthe middle part of cross-bar B; C, the body supported by the springs oand c. b b, are springs rigidly attached to the axle, which extendbackward and upward and support., at their free ends, the ends of arms cc, bya pivotal connection.

Spring a, a detached view of which is shown in Fig. 3, consists of arma2, which is rigidly attached to the lower side of the thill, the twosubstantially parallel torsion branches. a3 d3, extending transverselyof the vehicle, and

arm a, extending backward at the side of the body and having its endpivotally connected to bar D, which is rigidly attached to the lowerpart of the body'and which may be considered as a part of the same. Asimilar spring is provided for the other side of the vehicle and thesetwo constitute the lower springs. The upper springs. consist of atorsional rod c2, (Fig. 4) extending across the body under the seat, anda torsional rod c', arranged directly below the former and securelyclamped to the middle of the same by clamp c3. Torsion bar c extendsthrough the body and is then bent backward at right angles to its middleportion, thus forming the arms c c, having eyes at their ends adapted tobe pivotally connected to the ends of springs b b. The upper spring issecured to the body by the spring hangers f, a side view of which isshown in Fig. 2. These hangers are securely bolted to the framework bybolts f f2, and are provided with suitably shaped sockets to receive theends of torsion bar c2, and thus restrain them from turning. Directlybelow the socket the hanger is provided with a curved surface f3,against which the spring bar c', rests and turns as the springs areworked. A small piece of leather t', is secured by boltfz, to the frontside of arm y, extending downward from the hangerf, and serves as ananti-squeaking surface for the bar c', to rest against. Metallicescutcheons e2 form a neat protection to the sides of the body where thesprings pass through them.

The upper and lower springs, in supporting the body and its load, aresubjected to twisting strains throughout their torsional brancheswhich,in yielding, permit the arms 0L, and c, to turn about theirrespective torsional branches and the body to drop asshown by the dottedlines. The body is held in a horizontal position by virtue of the arms aand c being arranged one above the other and restraining the parts ofthe body to which they are attached to follow the substantially parallelcurved paths o-u2 and c--c (Fig. 5). These parts being restrained to theformer path by the elastic force of spring b. and to the latter path bythe positive action of arm a. Thus the springs in yielding, provide thebody with a very smooth and even up and down motion to compensate forrough roads.

The body C, is fulcrumed or hinged about an axis substantially parallelto and near the axle by hinges o, one part of which is rigidly connectedto the body and the other part to i the gear by arms a. These armspermit the hinges to move up and down relatively to the gear by theirangular motion. Arm b, is rigpoint either directly or obliquely abovethe axis of hinge o. such that it will be depressed less than hinge fu,as the body is loaded. The body is connected with arms b, by arms c, theangular motion of which allows the body to be depressed relatively tothe end r, of arm b.

The peculiar operation of the springs in resisting the endwise tippingof the body with greater force when the body is depressed than when inits normal condition is as follows:- Vhen the body is tipped forward andbackward, while the thills remain stationary, the eye r, will follow thepath e--e, while the spring l), yields to this movement of the body. Atthe same time there will be a smaller movement of the eye v, along thepath o-fus- The axis of this rocking motion when the body is in any ofits positions, is at the intersections of the lines drawn perpendicularto these paths and through the eyes r, and c. Thus, when the body is inits normal position the axis of rocking is at g, Where the perpendicularlines 'IJ-g, and r-g, intersect, but when the body is depressed to theposition shown by the dotted lines, the axis of rocking is at g Wherethe perpendicular lines r-g, and 12S-g', intersect. The action of arm a,is thus to carry thev axis of rocking down as the body is depressed. Thesprings b, being very stil as compared with springs a, provide nearlyall the resistance to the bodys tipping endwise and are depressed verylittle under the greatest load so that the eyes r, remain insubstantially the same position. When the Y causes the springs to actwith greater leverage Y to restrain the body from tipping endwise.

By making arms a., and c, to form a part of the supporting springs, thevehicle is much simplified, but it is apparent that the action of thearms thus arranged, in providing an increased resistance to the bodystipping as it is depressed, would be substantially the same were thebody supported by any of the ordinary springs. l conditions the arms a,and c, could be pivotally connected at both ends.

It is not essential that the arms h, c and a, shall extendlongitudinally of the vehicle to attain a variable resistance to theendwise rocking ot the body which will increase as the body is depressedthrough the increased leverage described, as either or all of these armsmay extend transversely of the vehicle and attain similar results.

I claim under separate application, Serial No.422,686 of even datesomewhat similar springs as applied to four wheeled vehicles, to f whichreference may be made. idly attached to the gear and extends to a What Iclaim as new, and desire toV secure by Letters Patent, is The stiffnessof this arm is i l. In a two wheeled vehicle, the combination with theaxle and thills securely attached thereto, of a bod)7 having the axisabout which it is adapted to rock endwise relatively to the thillslocated near the axle and, restrained to move up and down with said bodyrelatively to the gear, a yielding arm securely attached to the gear andextending to a point directly or obliquely above said axis about whichthe i body rocks, means for connecting said arm with the body,substantially as described.

2. In a two wheeled vehicle, the combination of a body adapted to rockendwise relatively to the thills about an axis near the axle which axisis restrained to move up and down with said body, of two arms, one seJcurely attached to the gear and extending to a point directly orobliquely above said axis about which the body rocks, the otherextending from the body to the free end of said first arm, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

3. In a two wheeled vehicle, the combinan tion with a body hinged aboutan axis paral lel to and near the axle by hinges connected to the gearby nearly horizontal arms, of arms securely fastened to the gear andextending to a point directly or obliquely above the axis Of courseunder the latter IOO IIO

of said hinges, means of connecting said 1atter arms with the body,substantially as described.

4. In a two wheeled vehicle, the combination with the axle, the thillsattached thereto, one or more cross bars connecting the thills,

ot' a nearly horizontal arm hinged to the body v near the axle,extending forward and securely attached to the gear, and an arm'attachedto the body above the hinge of said first arm, and extending backwardtherefrom and means for connecting said latter arm with the gear,substantially as described.

5. In a two wheeled Vehicle, the combination with the axle and body, ofa torsion spring extending transversely across the body and securelyattached thereto, arms securely attached to and extending backward fromsaid torsion rod on either side of the body, arms securely attached tothe axle and extending backward and upward and having their free endsconnected pivotally to the free ends of the arms extending from saidtorsion rod, substantially as described.

6. The combination with the body of the vehicle, of two substantiallyparallel torsion bars arranged transversely of and within the body, saidrods being securely clamped together the one having its ends securelyattached to the body and the other provided with arms extending backwardon either side of the body and pivotally attached to the gear,substantially as described.

7. In a two wheeled vehicle, the combination with the axle, thillssecurely attached thereto and a body, of a nearly horizontal armextending nearly longitudinally of the vehicle, having one end securelyattached to the gear and extending from said point of attachment, towardthe axle and securely attached to the body near the same, said armrestrain ing the axis about which the body rocks, to move up and downwith the body, a yielding arm having its lower end securely attached toithe gear and extending to a point directly or Obliquely above the axisabout which the body rocks, means for connecting said yielding arm withthe body, substantially as described.

EVERETT F. MORSE.

Witnesses:

SANFORD C. CONDE, FRANK L. MORSE.

